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All  |   Discussion (0)Performance & maintenance

Conserve battery power: by dimming the screen, and by turning off automatic bluetooth and wireless network detection. Minimize use of the CD or DVD drive. Remove all PC cards from their slots when not in use. Use your laptop's built-in power management system and select low-power mode. "Suspend" rather than reboot if you're only taking a short break.   [guest]

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Back up your data: Portable computers deal with a lot more wear and tear than desktops, and this increases the risk of hard drive failure. So make sure you back up the data you keep on your laptop. If you've got a CD-R or DVD-R drive in your lappie, keep a few spare blanks or a USB drive for easy backup on the road.   [guest]

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Overheating: Avoid placing your laptop on soft surfaces. This will block the air vents and overheat your system.   [guest]

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Surge protector: Always use a surge protector when plugged into the mains.   [guest]

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To maximise speed of your laptop do these things:

1) Increase the RAM to the maximum allowable (usually 2-3GB, rarely 1GB). That is, buy more RAM chips but ensure they are compatible with your model by inserting them in the unit at the hardware vendor if they allow swapping parts without penalty.
2) Set your Virtual Memory to twice your physical memory (System Properties[Windows Flag Key+Pause/Break]->Advanced->Performance Settings->Advanced->Virtual Memory). Set initial and maximum in XP to the same value.
3) Defragment your hard drive, or better still use an SSD.
4) Ensure at least 15GB free space on your hard drive. If not, get a larger hard drive.
5) Check in Task Manager that you aren't running byte-hungry applications you don't need. Check your Startup folder for them also.
6) Replace drives older than three years if they have had steady use. Or newer drives with heavy use. Seek times decrease over time with drive wear.   myxlfidian (150)

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Startup problems: Sometimes laptops don't start up at all. Try to take out the RAM chips (usually one at the back and one behind the keyboard at the front) and the hard drive. That often solves the problem. Also try another hard drive if you have one, if the previous steps have no effect. If it's a battery problem, discharge any residual power in the unit by removing the battery and unplugging the AC adapter, then holding in the power button for 7 seconds. Then try to start it with AC power only.   myxlfidian (150)

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